lionsden

I'm not the type to base my decision on a 7 game maximum (world cup) performance but rather the consistency throughout the entire season including the 38 league games , champions league, and other cup competitions irrespective of reputation. Based on that criteria my team is. Neuer Lahm . . Miranda. . . Godin. . . .Luis Modric. . . .Di maria Robben. . . Koke. . .Ronaldo Costa Honorable mentions Zlatan,Azpilicueta,Reus and Bale. Players that would have made the list easily if league performances were the only consideration Messi, Suarez, aguero,Toure,Bale,Silva,Vidal,Pogba,Benatia,Alaba,Pjanic,hazard,Rakitic and Strootman.

This "average/midtable" player isn't doing too bad this season at So'to. On a serious note, I was against trashing in out on loan and I still am but can't really complain now as we have the LB situation permanently sorted.

Robbie fowler is another one. he was on pace to become one of the most prolific goalscorers in premiership history before his knee injury.

The issue here is not whether he's "injury prone" or not but that the effect that the serious injuries he has accumulated over the past few years will have on him. he's already suffered two back to back serious knee injuries in the last 5 months, even his biggest fan can see it's a major cause for concern. as much as people like to dismiss it, no player is superhuman and Reus is no exception and people are right to preach caution regarding signing a player that has endured two major knee injuries in quick succession. We all saw the effect this injury had on essien and torres.

Meh. Marko marin is better

I agree. He was freakishly good when he wasn't on the treatment table. Ability wise he was probably the best English defender of his generation. Regarding the topic who would you say is the best defender in EPL history peak wise?

Hard to disagree with that.

No chance. Stam,Fedinand, Adams,Campbell and Hyypia were all better peak wise. Carvalho too. I liken it to Ryan Giggs when people say he's one of the greatest players in epl era, they say that because of his longevity and achievements. No one really believes he was better than attacking midfielders like Ronaldo, Bergkamp,Zola,Barnes,Cantonna,fabregas,et al peak wise.

Longevity wise definitely.

He joined them in 2011

I find his MOTD comment difficult to believe for a player that has played for 2 of the most ball dominant and creative teams ever in their prime. We played brilliantly in the 1st half but barca and Arsenal in particular have had much better halftime performances during his time at both clubs. I have seen Barca and Arsenal literally batter teams into absolute submission with the opposition just desperate to hold on for dare life and not even able to advance the ball past their own half. for all the hype about our first half performance, we still only created about 5 clear cut chances and gave the ball away on a couple of occasions. The 2004-2009 Arsenal and 2011-2013 barca have had much better performances both halftime and fulltime. But then again that's his opinion.

One thing Jose doesn't get enough credit for was how he refocused and reshaped our transfer strategy. In the past seasons we had become far too obsessed with buying young unproven talent and that strategy did leave us unbalanced squad and set us back even though it has proven very profitable. I'm sure if Jose hadn't arrived, we probably would have bought a bunch of talented youngsters to send out on loan while neglecting the immediate needs of the team. The balance between buying genuine quality for now and talented youngster for the future is one other thing he has brought to the club.

Cech Ivanovic JT Carvalho Cole Claude Lampard Essien Zola Hasselbank Drogba Bench: Cudicini, Desailly,Ferreira,Ballack,Hazard, Robben, Joe cole. The lack of Essien in most posters list is really baffling tbh. this is a player that was widely recognized as the best box to box midfielder in Europe in his prime with us.

His allround game was really poor against Westbrom. so many times moves broke down at his feet. He needs to do much better in that regard.

Credit where its due. I call it how I see it.

I will admit he has improved alot this season. specifically his passing game and creativity.

I understand why some are always quick to dismiss every player from a lower or subpar league. however there are always exceptions to every rule. If a player shows excellent technical ability and tactical awareness combined with great numbers/output then what's there to lose in taking a chance? How many great players came out of nowhere after starting off at a 2nd rate league? plenty is the answer. For every Mo salah there are Van Nisteelroy, Robben, Lewadowski, Cristiano,Modric,Zlatan,Ribery et al. What if Kramaric turns out like the latter . . . .i.e joins a big club in a big league and continues to perform superbly ultimately turning into a proven top class player (and given his talent and goal scoring record it isn't inconceivable)

By your daft logic if the German players are strategically playing together why would he move abroad in the first place and more importantly why would Man utd with zero German players currently on their books and no guarantee of UCL football be more favorable to him than us and Arsenal?.

Simic must be high on cheap weed. Inzaghi would kill to have kramaric's technique and I mean no disrespect to one of the greatest poachers of our time. Majority of his goals aren't poachers goal either which makes the comparison really baffling.

Imo He was far from flawless even in his prime years that you mentioned and benefited greatly from the partnership of Carvalho, who bailed him out numerous times ( I know football is a team sport, more so defending) and the protection he received from the midfielders namely Makelele and our tactical set up as well. Even if we agree that he was as good as anyone for those back to back title years, that's still only 2 years of perfection. The concensus all time great defenders performed at absolute elite level for many more years. It's undeniable that JT became increasingly inconsistent and unreliable from 2007 to 2013 before picking it up again after Jose returned. still had moments of world class in between but inconsistent nonetheless. They are all comfortably ahead of JT on longevity/consistency alone nevermind their impact and legacy on the game itself.

I actually don't mind the interviewer. He's possibly the only arsenal fan I can tolerate.

Here's another one. Romario is the most clinical finisher of the last 30 years. More clinically efficient than the original Ronaldo, Messi and Cristiano. He only needed one chance to score in his prime. Regarding the topic, Van Nistelrooy is very underrated and belongs in the top 6 of the most clinical finishers of the last 30 years.

Is this a serious post? One of the top 7 players in the world wouldn't be a guaranteed starter? You must really overrate Willian and oscar or massively underrate Reus. or both.

Anyone that refers to the legend as "fat" has no credibility in my eyes. I can't even take you seriously.

The same Oscar that was in mediocre form for 8 months and is well known as an inconsistent player would start over arguably the best young player in Europe?. I must be missing something. It's ok to hate Liverpool, we all do but you can't let that hatred cloud your judgement.